Four Years On: A Call for an Article 20 Inquiry into Systematic Torture in the Occupied Territories of Ukraine by the Russian Federation
On the fourth anniversary of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, OMCT publishes its submission to the UN Committee against Torture under Article 20 of the Convention against Torture. The request calls on the Committee to initiate a confidential inquiry into the systematic practice of torture by Russian authorities in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Four years on, the evidence is overwhelming: torture is not incidental, but widespread, organised, and used as a tool of control and repression by the Russian Federation.
The submission presents extensive evidence of torture and other ill-treatment of civilians in Ukrainian territories occupied since 24 February 2022. It is based on 92 in-depth interviews with survivors and witnesses, whose testimonies reveal consistent and recurring patterns of abuse amounting to torture under the Convention. Violations were documented across 87 detention facilities in eight occupied regions of Ukraine. In nearly all documented cases of conflict-related detention, torture and ill-treatment were reported.
Abuse occurred at every stage of detention, including arrest, transfer, interrogation, and throughout imprisonment. Among others, survivors described severe and prolonged beatings, electric shocks, suffocation, deprivation of food, water and sleep, denial of medical care, overcrowded and unsanitary detention conditions, psychological abuse and gender-based violence. Numerous victims reported witnessing other detainees being tortured continuously. The consequences are profound and enduring: Survivors report lasting physical and psychological harm, long-term medical needs, inability to work, and severe economic hardship. The broader population in occupied areas lives under constant fear of arbitrary arrest and abuse, contributing to widespread and sustained psychological trauma within communities.
The apparent objectives of these practices were to extract information, force confessions, punish dissent, intimidate the population, and consolidate control over occupied territories. Civilians (local officials, humanitarian volunteers, relatives of Ukrainian servicemen, bystanders and ordinary civilians) were deliberately and systematically targeted due to actual or suspected pro-Ukrainian views or connections. The information indicates that military and security units under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Defence, GRU, FSB, Rosgvardia (National Guard of Russia), the Federal Penitentiary Service, and armed formations of the so-called “DPR” and “LPR” controlled by the Russian Federation were involved.
When violence becomes systematic, the prohibition of torture requires institutional response. Article 20 of the Convention against Torture provides a mechanism for addressing credible information that torture is being systematically practiced.
Read the full Article 20 submission here.